WOWednesday: Mommy Makeup

“Look Divine in half the time,” is the Mommy Makeup motto. Debra Rubin-Roberts, founder of Mommy Makeup, wanted to create makeup that would save time and money. After giving birth, she had an epiphany. “When I first became a mom I barely had time to brush my teeth, let alone put on makeup,” said Rubin-Roberts.

She is an award-winning makeup artist who made her stamp in the media world and retail industry. Her work has been featured in various publications including The Daily News, Avenue Magazine, and Manhattan Bride Magazine. Her extensive list of television work included, 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning, E! Entertainment Network, and the Maury Povich Show. Her fifteen years of artistry afforded her the expertise to launch her own line. Throughout the years, she worked for Bobbi Brown, Prescriptives, Laura Mercier, Nars, Smashbox, and Estee Lauder.

If you have fallen into the mineral makeup crazed that has swept the nation, Mommy Makeup is for you. Her mineral powders have all the cocktail ingredients women with sensitive or hormonal skin are looking for. It is naturally oil-free, talc-free, and fragrance-free.

Mommy Makeup is not only a convenient cosmetic line, but it includes botanical based ingredients, it is allergy tested, hypo-allergenic, made in the USA and are cruelty free (no animal testing). After 2 and half years of development, Rubin-Roberts had condensed what she refers to as a 13 beauty product routine to six multi-taskers. These multi-taskers are packaged in a makeup kit encouraged to do a polished look in minutes.

One major point of differentiation that Mommy Makeup has over other lines is what Rubin-Roberts calls “Paint by Number." This is step by step instructions on a face chart with every kit. Every woman can now be their own makeup artist with a mistake proof application. Rubin-Roberts calculated that in about six minutes anyone can achieve an entire face application. All of these looks can also easily be transformed from day to night.

The names on the packaging tie the whole theme together such as Mommy’s Little Helper and Eye Triplets Shadow. The concealer, like other products works for more than one purpose. It is an under eye concealer, eye shadow base, and face cover up. Rubin-Roberts stresses the importance of concealer because, “It will help you look more awake and bright eyed.”

These products are also very innovative. Rubin-Roberts created the mommy lip gloss that in the handle is a hidden matching automatic lip liner. This retails for only $24 dollars. “And since kissing our kids brings all moms joy, I named these beautiful shades after my beautiful daughter (Daisy) and her playmates,” said Ruben-Roberts.

These products are found in several different states from New York, California, to Hawaii, and many more. Visit http://www.mommymakeup.com for more information.

Evelyn Perez has been writing for Lasplash.com for two years, where she focuses on fashion and beauty. Perez also works as a professional makeup artist. She invites all beauty junkies to join her website and request any makeup tutorial look they would like to learn.

Fun Friday! Meet the Team

In honor of Administrative Professionals Week, we would like to take a moment to acknowledge all of those who help to make Her Journey what it is.

An extra special thank you goes out to Tracey, who is the Her Journey right hand woman. She jumped right in from day one. Bringing her creativity, a unique voice and love of travel, she continues to be a tremendous asset to the team.

Each bringing their own voice of expertise, the other contributors have been a pleasure to work with and have added so much to the Her Journey blog:

Special thanks is due to Andrew of Straight Design for showing of his design genius with every issue.

We also want to send a Thank You to all of our guest contributors.
And of course to all of you readers!

This has been an amazing journey and we look forward to continuing on a journey to somewhere even greater.


Image found here

Get Cute Quick: Day-to-Night

How do we take a day look and transform it to night? It can be easy, fast, and fashionable. Often we need to leave work ready for our evening out with friends. There is so much to think about like makeup, accessories, and a fresh new outfit. Here are some essential tips and tricks to turn up the notches from everyday to glam.

Makeup

Makeup can be a miracle worker and it instantly boosts a woman’s confidence. Avoid the clutter of carrying a suitcase of makeup out with you. All you really need is five crucial items in your collection:

• First, a complexion product is a must, whether it is a powder or concealer. I wear the Smashbox Halo Powder because you can dust it all over to blot oils or build your coverage to get an even complexion (an added bonus it comes with a brush).


• Secondly, Nars Multiple Stick (best selling Orgasm and South Beach) is a great tool that can be used on eyes, lips, and cheeks.



• Third, Dior Addict High Shine Lipstick Nude Silhouette 214 looks like a lipstick but is creamy and hydrating like a gloss. It makes for a great everyday, but when paired up with a smoky can be an intoxicating look.


• Fourth, mascara makes eyes look brighter and more awake and adds the finishing touch to a look. I recommend Too Faced Lash Injection mini mascara.


• Lastly, black eyeliner never goes out of style like the classic “little black dress.” My favorite is Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes 0L.
  

If you only one want thing in your makeup bag, the Glamour To Go 2 Pocket Palette by Too Faced has juicy lip glosses, eight silky shadows which can double as an eyeliner, and one peachy pink blush. With these five essential makeup tools anyone can revamp the day office look to an evening cocktail event.

Outfit

If you're looking to amp up the "wow" factor, do it with a little wardrobe tweak. You can sashay through the streets feeling like a true fashionista. This season we are seeing:
· Bright vibrant colors
· Mix and match patterns
· Basic neutrals with a pop of red
· Pastels
· Feathers
· Florals
· A more classic look is the skinny jeans paired with a plain basic blouse for day and at night paired it up with stilettos, a blazer, lots of accessories, and more and more gloss on your lips.
· The Black dress is a clothing staple every girl should own. It can easily be turned into a day or night ensemble depending what bag, accessories, and shoes you decide to rock out with it.

I also recommend layering up your clothes. It makes a statement, gives contrast, and it’s the best way to do pull off a quick day to night look.

Visit piperlime.com for your more shopping ideas this season!

Accessories

Accessories are what tie your whole look together. These pieces can glamorize anyone’s look from plain to POW BAM:

Brooch or floral accessories
A trendy bag that is not a clutch or a supersized tote
Trendy sunglasses
Hair accessories
Earrings, bracelets, and necklaces
Scarves

Check out Levres Couture for some inspiration!

Evelyn Perez has been writing for Lasplash.com for two years, where she focuses on fashion and beauty. Perez also works as a professional makeup artist. She invites all beauty junkies to join her website and request any makeup tutorial look they would like to learn.

A Royal Getaway

Royal Decameron is an all inclusive resort for anyone looking for an affordable getaway. It is 90 minutes away from Sangster, the International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Upon check-in, guests are greeted with a smile and a tropical welcome drink. The unmistakable voice of the late reggae singer and national icon, Bob Marley singing “I Shot the Sheriff” resonated through the resort.

One of the first noticeable things about Royal Decameron is the delighted faces of the guests. Julie, a visitor at the resort, could not resist the Decameron and flew 24 hours to stay a second time with her husband. One of the things that attracted Julie was that Decameron is such a secluded resort. "I like this resort because you can't loose people and it is private," said Julie. Travis who traveled from New York added, "If you're looking for an affordable all inclusive resort in Jamaica, Royal Decameron is the perfect spot for you."

However, others had a different view of Decameron. Maria was not entirely thrilled about it. "It seems like it is Less than three a star and it feels like a mansion not a resort. Although you can say it feels homey."

Decameron had hundreds of white cottages with hunter green dew drenched grass surrounding each one. The apartment styled bungalow had a tee-pee shaped roof. Inside there was a walk in closet with shelf space. Outside the rooms, just a few feet away awaited the sandy beach. A small bar stood for the visitors drinking pleasures.

There were three places to eat, a snack bar, main restaurant buffet, and one special restaurant where reservations had to be made. The snack bar included an adequately sized personal pizza. In addition to the pizza, the bar offered chicken wings, fries and a "fixins bar."

One of the biggest attractions of the resort was the main restaurant which is a buffet. One can find an array of foods, which included:
· Meats
· Plantains
· Potatoes
· Pancakes
· Freshly baked croissants and breads
· Roast beef
· Sweet and sour chicken
· Fish stews
· Rice
· Potatoes
· Various cakes and cookies as well as ice cream made up dessert

Dinner time is 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm. There was a theme for every night. There was Italian night, Jamaican night, Mexican night etc. Foods from those nations were served. On Jamaican night the cooks served:
· Jerk chicken
· Beef patties
· Ackee and saltfish
· Curry

On Italian the cook whipped up:
· Alfredo
· All types pasta

For Mexican night cooks made:
· Beef and chicken
· Quesadillas and tacos

There was always something to do at Decameron. Some of the activities included:

· Snorkeling
· Water skiing
· Banana boat
· Wind surfing
· Beach volleyball
· Bicycling tour
· Tour on a glass bottom boat

Other activities were provided by the entertainment team of Decameron. Maria, a sassy Jamaican, was part of the entertainment staff. She taught the vacationers how to move like Jamaicans. She made a comment, "Once you are in Jamaica you are Jamaican, yeah mon." She taught them the Willie bounce, the Umbrella, Anaconda, get Jiggy and many other dances.


At night the entertainment only got better, but for some it was not good enough. "The entertainment needs to go up a notch," said Maria Perez in a disillusioned voice. Everyone sat around the stage which was adjacent to the pool to see the evening show. The MC was a witty Dominican who tried to get the lackluster audience pumped. The shows were filled with a lot of acts. There were reggae bands that covered songs from other artists. There were couple games where the couples had to pop balloons on each other Kama Sutra style and they even had to switch gender by wearing each other's clothes. Lastly, the professional dancers blessed the stage with their remarkable bodies and incredible talent. They paid homage to the most influential stars such as Michael Jackson, Shakira, Harry De la Belafonte, and Beenie man, the King of the dancehall.

After the show the host announced that the party continued at the disco. The small disco had an open bar to the right and the dance floor in the far end. Some enjoyed Jamaica's national alcoholic beverage, Appleton White Rum which was referred to as fire water. No one could resist the contagious dancehall music. People of all races did their best to imitate the professional dancers who shared the stage. The dancers oozed with confidence as they moved to the sultry reggae sounds.

The Royal Decameron in Runaway Bay was royal for some not so regal for others. This resort is no doubt an inexpensive all you can eat and drink fest for the vacationer who wants to relax in a cozy hotel.